American Horror Story 

An anthology series centering on different characters and locations, including a house with a murderous past, an insane asylum, a witch coven, a freak show circus, a haunted hotel, a possessed farmhouse, a cult, the apocalypse, and a slasher summer camp.

Creators:

Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy

Stars:

Lady Gaga, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 120 wins & 373 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Evan Peters	...	James March / ... 94 episodes, 2011-2018
Sarah Paulson	...	Lana Winters / ... 85 episodes, 2011-2018
Denis O'Hare	...	Spalding / ... 60 episodes, 2011-2016
Kathy Bates	...	Madame Delphine LaLaurie / ... 58 episodes, 2013-2018
Jessica Lange	...	Constance Langdon / ... 53 episodes, 2011-2018
Frances Conroy	...	Myrtle Snow / ... 52 episodes, 2011-2018
Lily Rabe	...	Misty Day / ... 51 episodes, 2011-2019
Angela Bassett	...	Desiree Dupree / ... 48 episodes, 2013-2018
Emma Roberts	...	Madison Montgomery / ... 46 episodes, 2013-2019
Cheyenne Jackson	...	Will Drake / ... 43 episodes, 2015-2018

Storyline

Physical and psychological horrors affect a decomposing family, workers and residents of an insane asylum, a coven of witches, a cast of circus freaks, the employees and guests at a struggling hotel, a family who moved into a mysterious farmhouse, the members of a small suburb in Michigan, the surviving members of the Apocalypse, and the counselors of a creepy summer camp in this haunting anthology series, focusing on the themes of infidelity, sanity, oppression, discrimination, addiction, and exploitation.

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Plot Keywords:

anthology | serial killer | male objectification | supernatural | hotel | 

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Taglines:

Wir Sind Alle Freaks

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Horror Story: Asylum

Filming Locations:

Hidden Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, Ryan Murphy Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ryan Murphy told Finn Wittrock that Tristan and Elizabeth Taylor (Denis O'Hare) were going to be revealed as a couple (in season five - Hotel), a few episodes prior to the revelation, so he could subtlety played the connection between the characters.

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Goofs

Frances Conroy ("Old" Moira O'Hara) is right-eye dominant. Many times you can see that she, as Moira, is focusing on the object she's looking at using her "blind" right eye instead of her left eye.

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Quotes

Sally Freeman: [after Ben presses the "Record" button on his tape recorder] He's going through with it and there's nothing I can do to stop him. We're supposed to sign the papers next week and that's it. 23 years gone with the stroke of a pen. I'm so upset. And I wonder if I'll ever be able to love or be loved again.
Dr. Ben Harmon: What was the reason your husband is seeking the divorce?
Sally Freeman: He says I'm very boring. I've tried to converse with him on a variety of subjects. Sports, for instance. I've even learned the names of ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Sarah Paulson/Judd Apatow/Grant Morrison (2017)

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Soundtracks

American Horror Story Theme
(uncredited)
Written by Cesar Davila-Irizarry and Charlie Clouser

User Reviews

Entertaining.

A dysfunctional family moves into an old house, a house with a history of horror. For the main characters, history is what the first episode is all about: the husband's history of infidelity, the wife's history of having a bloody stillbirth, the daughter's history of cutting herself -- for each a long history of pain and resentment and longing for change, though it quickly becomes apparent the only change coming will leave them hysterically screaming to the sudden, violent, gory end. The one sure thing this show promises is that people will die horribly, and we will all be terrified by it.

The characters are not likable; they may not even be redeemable. Even the suffering wife is bitter and cold and hateful. But do they deserve what horrible things will assuredly happen to them? Nope. Which means their fight is our fight, and their fear is our fear.

American Horror Story is interesting, entertaining, suspenseful, and ambitious. After watching the first episode, I want to watch some more.